This invention relates to a process for preparing an emulsified fat composition. More particularly, it relates to a process for preparing an oil-in-water type emulsified fat composition which contains cheese and is suitable for incorporation and folding into foods. 2. Description of the Prior Art:
Cheese is obtained by combining some materials selected from among milk, cream, skim milk or partially defatted milk, butter milk and those obtained by processing them together, coagulating the resulting mixture and removing whey therefrom. There are more than 400 varieties of cheese including fresh and ripened ones each having characteristic flavor and properties depending on the raw materials and processing method.
Because of the high nutritive value and excellent flavor, attempts have been made to blend cheese into other food materials in the fields of, for example, confectionery, baking and cooking. However it is difficult to incorporate cheese per se in food materials since it is hardly mixed, dispersed or emulsified and causes some troubles such as an thickening, separation or roping upon heating. Thus common processes for imparting a cheese to a food product include adding a cheese flavor or applying a cheese spread thereto (cf. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 158050/1981). An example of a process for incorporating cheese per se into food materials comprises heating an oil-in-water type emulsified fat composition comprising cheese, fat, starch, water and a gum and then molding the heated composition to thereby give an emulsified fat composition containing cheese (cf. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 166345/1986). However this process is accompanied by some disadvantages such that the emulsified fat composition containing cheese, which is obtained by adding fat to cheese and stabilizing the emulsion with starch and gum, is rough to the touch because of the insufficiently dissolved protein in the cheese and a gelatinous and poor texture caused by the starch and gum. In addition, the oil-in-water type emulsified fat composition thus obtained is not so stable as to withstand so-called high-temperature short-time pasteurization. Thus it should be pasteurized at a temperature lower than 100.degree. C. and molded, which makes the shelf stability of the emulsified fat composition containing cheese poor.
We have previously provided a cheese composition having a smooth texture, a high availability and an excellent shelf stability (cf. Japanese Patent Application No. 269065/1985). It has a specific composition, i.e., having a ratio of the total moisture content to the total fat content ranging from 30 : 70 to 65 : 35 and prepared under specific heating conditions, i.e., at a temperature of 110.degree. to 150.degree. C. for two seconds to four minutes.